Developing a Line of Skin Care – Designing Your Products

When you first decide to design a new line of products, you must do your research. Not only do you want to create products that are profitable, but you also want to be sure you are following all of the requirements set by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US or your governing body outside of the US. Make sure you know the difference between a cosmetic or a drug according to the FDA. If your product is touted as curing acne, it is a drug. If your product is recommended for oily skin, it is a cosmetic.

Before you go any further, consider taking a course on the subject or investing in some books that will give you the full picture on all that is involved in developing skin care products. After you have put in some time researching, you are ready for the design process.

The best approach when first developing a product line is to start small and grow from there. By starting small, you will have a smaller investment and can work on getting sales that will then help the business grow. You may want to consider creating a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer for the three main skin types – normal, oily, and dry. Another option is to focus on a niche like selling only products for mature skin.

Let’s say you choose to develop the daily facial regimen for the three main skin types. Will you be creating an all-natural line of products or not? Will you use cleansers in bar form or in liquid form? Will your moisturizers be lotions or creams? There are a lot of decisions to make, so think of the direction you want to go and design your products for your ideal customer.

Once you have an idea of what you would like to offer, you are ready to start formulating. If you can choose some ingredients that can be used in multiple products, you can keep your initial investment low, so keep this in mind when deciding what you would like to use. For example, if you are making moisturizers and oil is needed for them all, consider using an oil that is good for all skin types as a base ingredient.

The next step is trial and error. You need to create your cleansers, toners, and moisturizers for each skin type and tweak the recipe until it is good for the majority of customers of each skin type. This means testing – testing on yourself, your family, your friends, and eventually volunteers (potential customers) willing to try samples and give feedback.

After you have developed products that you feel are a good fit, you can decide on packaging and then begin to sell. Again be sure you are following FDA guidelines for packaging your products. Besides the name of the company and product, you must include the size of the product and list all ingredients. You also want to be sure that products are properly preserved and that good manufacturing practices are followed, such as working in a clean and sterile environment.

There is quite a bit of work to begin your new skin care products. Start researching and testing formulas, and sometime soon customers can begin enjoying your new products.